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Empire of Ander
The Empire (previously a Principality) of Ander, officially known as the Empire of Greater Ander and Holbeck is an old and relatively prosperous state located among the southern kingdoms. Its name is usually shortened to just Ander. Ethnicity Many of the Andirs share shades of hair ranging from honey-brown to bistre. Blond hair is also common among the Andirs, though it almost always turns to a shade of brown when the harsh winter snows fall. Among the Andiric population deep, concentrated melanin is common, making the Andirs' eyes appear brown or green. Andiric ethnicity is mostly focused in Ander, the Order of the Hill and some eastern Ybirish isles. The northern portion of Ybirawen still has some Andir bloodlines scattered here and there, though the rest of the kingdom would be largely untouched. Government Ander is a feudal empire typical of Phalanor. Although the Emperor holds a lot of power, his vassals still hold the majority of the Empire's power. House Geatfurde The House of Geatfurde, rather than being a direct line of Andiric rulers, is more of an honourary title than anything. This distinction emerged when the last of the line of Ælfgar perished, and the Principality was allocated to a distantly-related Andiric nobleman. Instead of taking the name of his father's dynasty, the new Prince took the name of his mother's bloodline. This was to make any other claims to the throne illegitimate, and it indeed succeeded. There have been six "Houses of Geatfurde" since then, with Emperor Robert's line being the newest. Army Ander's army is still largely dependent on levies and vassals. The Emperor has, however, created a small professional army called the Greencloaks, or Greencoats (Kranbazers in Andiric). The title of Greencloak is essentially a title of knighthood, and most Greencloaks are derived from the knights of the lower nobility (the Erders). This was in order to not upset the vassals of the Empire. The Kranbazers have the most advanced cannon technology in Ander, and are efficient infantrymen. Although they started as a cavalry force at first, they were transformed into mounted infantry. History Before the invasion of the Prumites, Ander was a fairly-established empire with land extending to modern-day Cadiliwyn and the eastern Ybirish isles. The empire only lasted for the reign of only five emperors, the first being Ælfgar the Conquerer and the last was known as Aræn. Nomenclature Originally, the tribe that Ælfgar the Conquerer lead was called the clan of Ænnkryjenfrains, which, in the common tongues, roughly meant "Elk-King's People." The name was a result of the word for the Voric peoples (which evolved into the word for "people" in Andiric). If taken literally, the name would mean "Elk-King's Vores." Eventually, as the tribe continued to expand its borders, the then-warlord Ælfgar saw it fit to simply name his empire Ænnkryjen, which was a shortening of of the original clan's name. After expanding by much, Ælfgar proclaimed himself emperor, a title which he earnt first in the southern realms -- after the dwarves, that is. As the empire shrank and became a principality instead, the language of the Andirs progressed and adopted several words from the Ybirish languages, albeit forcibly so. The language lost many of its cases and progressively evolved, and eventually it came to be the tongue that most Andirs know today. As the language progressed, the term for the country was changed to Ænndyere instead. This name is usually simplified to Ander, which caught on to this day. Foundation The then-Warlord Ælfgar of the Andir clan was the leader of his people, who had controlled a small portion of land that bordered the modern-day kingdom of Ybirawen. It is disputed what truly happened early on, though the well-accepted version is that Ælfgar united the elven clans and commanded his people to root the worship of Cernésur, the personification of Phalanor, in the nearby clans' lands. After approxamitely a year, Ælfgar decided to take action and conquer the nearby Cernésur-worshipping clans, making whole hordes of barbarians surrender under the name of their god. He was named the harbinger of Cernésur as he did so, proceeding to conquer a large portion of the modern-day Holbeck and some of northern Cadiliwyn. Cernésurism is well-known to have its base in the old Voric beliefs, under Attaryan. The then-warlord was given his title soon thereafter, marrying the daughter of a fallen Ryredele chieftain. He produced several heirs with her, all of whom expanded Ælfgar's empire. Ælfgar soon became the first emperor in southern Phalanor after the dwarves. The only one of Ælfgar's sons to survive was known as Bæddir, who ruled for the next fifteen years without much expansion. Fall of the First Andir Empire One hundred and twenty years and four monarchs later, the trade empire of the Prumites invaded. At first, they quickly conquered the lands outside of the original Andiric Mountains, though they could not transport their armies up to the remaining Andir lands. Eventually, they relied upon corrupting several noble families, promising unlimited riches and land. The nobles that accepted the offer allowed the Prumites access from some strongholds at the edge of the roads leading down the mountains. The land was quickly conquered, though the remaining noblemen and Emperor Aræn's heir - Prince Ælfgar II - moved south, and then sailed east to the modern-day subcontinent of Trisla. They established the kingdom that would eventually become the High Kingdom of Trisla. It was originally named the Principality of Træslarne, which meant Godsgold, due to the subcontinent's golden shores. Principality of Éures Once the Andirs established themselves into the area, they split into several tribes and realms that constantly fought each other for around four years. There were many different realms that claimed to be the true successors of Aræn, since his son Ælfgar did not have any heirs whatsoever. As the Andirs fought each other and expanded to the south, three main realms emerged as the strongest: the Principality of Éures, the Principality of Ayêthand, and the Grand Duchy of Uranlunt. The Prince of Éures, Frainkrij, expanded his realm all throughout the eastern shores of Trisla. When he finally crossed a small mountain range in the very south of Trisla, however, he found something worrying: the Prumites. Prum kept what is now Athroux and northern Vagar-Echag, with several major trade posts. They did not know of the Andirs, however, since they never dared cross the mountains to 'barbarian lands'. Seeing an opportunity, Prince Frainkrij invited the Grand Duke of Uranlunt and the Prince of Ayêthand to a feast, on the basis of discussing a possible invasion of the south. Although they were suspicious at first, the rulers agreed to come, expecting hospitality -- as was the Andiric custom. They got none of that, however, and the rulers were immediately killed. What followed was a five year war, which Frainkrij barely won. He made the other major realms puppets, and launched an invasion of Prum. The Prumites were completely overwhelmed, and their lands fell very quickly. Frainkrij installed Andiric, Rytskelian, and Rescian rulers over the formerly-Prumic state. Éures was victorious, and was at its greatest territorial extent after the invasion of Prum and the Coldenmounts. Disputes with the Vagar-Echag As the peoples of Éures progressed south to expand their lands, they stumbled across treacherous mountains covered with cold snow with frost falling from the skies. As the folk of Ander were originally from the mountains, they eventually climbed up the fang-shaped peaks and found a tundra with trees dotted with fruits they've never seen nor eaten ever before. They pressed further south, finding another obstacle in their way; the dwarfin state of Chag-Vagarli. The Vagarli dwarves were a proud and xenophobic folk, quickly threatening the Andiric peoples with war if they did not get out of their lands. The Andirs refused, however, therefore sparking the war that came to be known as the War of the Coldenmounts. Prince Dejagnaj sent most of his noble subjects south to fight the dwarfs, managing to raise a fairly big army. The dwarfs, however, were focused on defending their homeland from the southeastern Prumite Kingdom, which had been weakened severely. The dwarves sent whatever army they had left, quickly beginning the reconstruction of a huge wall between Trisla and Urun'vai, now known as the Vai'c Wall. The dwarfs were slowly pushed back; just slowly enough for the wall to be reconstructed. The remaining dwarfs fled through it, and the Andirs' plans to expand even further south were thwarted by it. Due to their navy quickly transforming into infantry and cavalry, they hadn't been able to find a shore close enough to invade Urun'vai once again. There is still dispute to who owns the Coldenmounts to this day, though the dwarfin council refuses to take any action against the Trislan kingdoms due to the Kingdom of Chag-Vagarli lack of support. Return to the Mainland After approximately two hundred and three hundred years in exile, the Trislan-Andir population finally heard of the Empire of Prum's slow but steady fall. They built ships as hastily as possible, Prince Rikhæmand II only leaving a small portion of his army in Trisla; almost all of whom had migrated later. Rikhæmand conquered most of his ancestors' old empire, yet wasn't able to do so with the newly-founded Kingdom of Holbeck nor any of Cadiliwyn or Ybirawen. Despite that, the prince was a relatively successful tactician and leader. The Andirs ultimately dwarfed the once-Empire of Prum to a poor little kingdom in the north and east, allowing the Cvaldaks to do the rest of the work. Eventually, though, they faced threats from the nearby kingdoms. A few centuries after Prum's fall, the nearby divided kingdoms of Holbeck were suspicious of the Principality due to their foreign religion. The emerging Cadiliwych kingdom in the south was suspicious as well, and so were the Ybirish states. The Eandwicans remained neutral, however, preparing for an invasion from Cadiliwyn. The Andiric princes refused time and time again to accept the common religion of both the north and south, believing it to be a vile polytheistic leftover of the Prumite Empire. The threats of the nearby states became clearer, though the Andiric monarchs were stubborn and still refused to accept the religion. To the south the King of the Cadiliwychans rallied an army in order to march on Ander. The Andirs quickly prepared for a war that would last ten years, with large blows being traded to the Principality. The Eandwicans, feeling threatened, quickly joined on Ander's side. The Holbeques, however, quickly banded together and attacked Ander. The war was to change the balance of power in the south, as the major powers - Eandwic and Ander - were slowly falling. Some Ybirish states joined as well, attacking Ander and taking some land from them. The war ended when Prince Ælfgar III surrendered to the invading forces. This surrender is regarded either as the saviour of the modern Andir state, or the disgrace of the Andir peoples. The Principality was forced to surrender its westernmost region to make the Order of the Hill, an order dedicated to the worship of the pantheon of gods that almost all of Phalanor worships now. It was confirmed by some renown scholars that the first leader of the Order was indeed the bastard of Prince Ælfgar, though these same scholars were mysteriously found dead in their own homes. Although the Southern Church was established in western Ander, almost all Andirs still worship Cernésus. Events of 931 A.P. The previous Andiric prince, Bryn I, was on the whisk of going to war with the Cadiliwych King Aidan IV just three years from the modern day (928 AP), due to an argument involving his niece; Lady Joan Adwyck was rumored to have bedded Prince Bryn, King Aidan's own spymaster telling him that the noblewoman was seen entering the Prince's tent while a tourney in the capital city of Cadiliwyn was held. She left with her clothing was quite a bit more.. loose, and seemingly hastily put on. While these rumors were denied by Bryn, the nearby puppet state of the Order of the Hill followed in warning Prince Bryn. Evenutally, the Prince was summoned to Cadiliwyn three years after the incident had occured. This was to apologize for any harm he'd caused, and to recieve penance under the name of the gods. Unbeknownst to him, however, he was captured and imprisoned. The Tsardom of Cvaldakia quickly got involved and eased the heated negotiations in an attempt to release the Andiric prince. As peace was slowly approached, however, King Aidan made the hasty decision of executing Prince Bryn. The Cvaldaks retreated to their homeland, planning to wage war on Cadiliwyn. There was no clear heir for quite a while, the Principality being given to Prince Bryn's wife, Countess Isolde Gyfford. The Principality immediately declared war upon Cadiliwyn, though to little avail. Rumors of a bastard of Prince Bryn's had been looming throughout the south, and indeed they had been confirmed; Cadiliwyn had sent a few of their knights to infiltrate Cvaldakia's capital and find the mother of this supposed bastard, finding both him and his mother. Although they tried to kill them, they were disrupted by an agent of Tsar Ativohol II. The knights were distracted enough for the young bastard Robert to kill one of them, the rest being killed by Cvaldakian archers. Prince Robert was quickly taken to the Tsar, being recognized as the official ruler of Ander and being transported to Ander along with Tsar Ativohol. After several weeks of campaigning in the south, Prince Robert devised a plan to win the support of Holbeck; he'd found out that the King of Holbeck had a daughter, who'd just been around Robert's age and ready to wed. He discussed it carefully with the Tsar, though mainly focused on the pure militaristic gain of it; with the excellent crossbowmen and archers of Holbeck, they could disguise themselves as regular peasant-sailors with Trisla's fishing ships, helping the main army with any sieges involving sea-side cities. Of course, the warships would help alot as well. Several weeks later, negotiations commenced, though something "unexpected," happened; a Cadiliwych army appeared several leagues away, and Prince Robert had readied his troops. In the aftermath of that battle (of which the Andirs won), however, the Holbeckian emissary was grateful to Prince Robert for protecting Holbeckian lands, and, with the King's permission, Prince Robert was now betrothed to Princess Elsbeth. After examining several books on the topic of the Order of the Hill's royalty, Prince Robert came to a conclusion that, by right, he would also be the rightful emperor of both Ander and the Order of the Hill. He officially declared that he would take the Order's lands after his campaign in Cadiliwyn. Restoration of an Empire As he succeeded in his campaign in Cadiliwyn, the young Prince of Ander took a huge swathe of former-Andir land. He later declared himself Emperor of the Andirs, Southern Cvaldaks, and the Anu'aet elves. After this, he finally launched a full-scale invasion of the Hillon Order. As the now-Emperor Robert was expanding rapidly, there was tension between him and the King of Holbeck. Robert sent lavish gifts to the King in hopes that it would reduce the tension, and although this has worked for now, it was clear that sending mere gifts could not truly fix the rift between the King and Robert's relations. On the creation of the 2nd Andiric Empire, Emperor Robert has commissioned a new coat of arms to be made for his nation. Culture The culture of the Andirs is, like its neighbours, very anti-Prumish. Andirs are still a relatively accepting folk that have a knack for colonization and trade. The Andiric people rely upon the Holbeckians to bring trade from Trisla and many Andiric merchants often invest in this cargo. Cuisine The Empire enjoys various arrays of food, ranging from dates to delicious pork coated with local spices and juices. Wealthier Andirs tend to eat dates exported from the east as appetizers or deserts, dipped in honey or sugar. Usually, most people eat bread as their main meal, and meat is reserved for the more wealthier merchants and artisans. The richest and highest of the Andiric hierarchy however eat pork and meat coated with various local and imported spices, with cream and honey being served after the meal as a desert. Due to the rich forests, the Andirs also enjoy the local fruits that are unique to that area in particular. Clothing Andiric clothing is relatively varied from region to region, although there is one thing that is almost always present in the Andiric garb. It is no other than the cloak, which is usually short and made of wool. Both genders in Ander wear the cloak, as it helps greatly in the winters. The main distinctions of the regional garbs are as follows: the area in the heart of Ander is generally rich, so people can afford more dyes and such. People near the mountains tend to wear a lot of fur, as they need to climb the mounts often. The clothing in the west is generally very non-decorative and practical, as is the clothing in southern Ander. This also holds true for the parts of Ander that were originally under Cadiliwyn, collectively referred to as Dirse. The most comfortable regional clothes are by far those of Holbeck and Ryredel. The moderately wealthy can afford a magnificent combination of wools, cottons, and hides that make you not too cold and not too hot either. They're soft as well. Current Situation Category:NationCategory:EmpireCategory:VoricAnder's current situation is extremely tense, and the Empire seems on the brink of collapsing. Although the war with Ryredel was won, it was due to a stroke of sheer luck as well as some loans from Coastpyre. Relations with Coastpyre have therefore worsened, and diminished the ties that the two Empires had previously had. Emperor Aræn the Third took the throne at 979 AP, though he had been effectively ruling for longer than that. Aræn has proven to be a good diplomat, but one that's too rash and does not have a good grasp upon economics. He has a lax rule over the peasants, with lower-than-average taxes. The exceptions are in Holbeck and Ryredel however, which have very high taxes. Ryredele War of Independence See: Ryredele War for Independence The Ryredele War for Independence weakened Ander somewhat, and made punishments quite harsh there. It also created a rift between Coastpyre and Ander, who had previously been good allies. The Margraves' War See: Andiric Subjugation of Eandwic The Margraves' War and the war in Eandwic has left Ander weakened. Emperor Aran III was killed in battle and Prince Fradriche seized the throne afterwards. Now, a civil war brews.